When I told Jack I needed an untraceable gun, he didn’t ask why. He had read the same newspaper as I had and had seen the same story so he knew without asking why I needed it. The next day he brought home a two-shot derringer like it was a carton of milk and the store was half a block away.
My shift at Il Portico that night was dull. A storm had threatened the city all day and diners stayed home where it was safe. When the sky crashed open at 10 PM, I locked the restaurant’s door and started balancing the cash.
As the opening score to Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” played over the stereo, a heavy fist rattled the door in its frame. From the bar I could see it was Calogero Macrino and my throat tightened. That fat fuck didn’t waste time. I dropped my rag and unlocked the door.
“Kitchen’s closed, Mr. Macrino.”
Macrino bullied his way through the door, dragging a hooker in a skin-tight gold dress behind him. I sat them at Macrino’s favourite window table.
“He just got out and couldn’t wait to hit is favourite spot,” the whore laughed, strung out on speedballs. Macrino winked at me, his heavy hand creeping up the back of my thigh.
“I’ll fix you something special, Mr. Macrino.”
I returned with wine glasses and an expensive Musigny red in one hand and the derringer behind my back. The muzzle sank into a roll of fat in the side of his neck. The gun barked, Macrino jerked upright, and red mist fogged Il Portico’s front window. The monster pitched forward onto the table.
“My father will see you in hell, Macrino,” I said.
The whore was still screaming when I dialed the police.
~~~~~~~
This is a repost. More like a redo, actually. I had posted it sometime early last week but the piece read more like a dislocated fragment of a larger story rather than a standalone piece of microfiction so I pulled it down and reworked it a little. I’m happier with the result but I still have a lot more practice ahead of me.
What do you think of this? What questions arise in your mind? Let me know in the comments.
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© Kevin M. Coleman 2023
Photos from Unsplash by
Alaksiej Carankivic
Mat